


how deeply are you sleeping, or are you still awake

by welcometogressenheller (nextyeardarling)



Series: (pl) sky full of song [2]
Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Angst, Azran Legacy Spoilers, Don't tell my wip I'm here, During Canon, Foreshadowing, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Late Night Talk onboard the Bostonius, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:27:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25070890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nextyeardarling/pseuds/welcometogressenheller
Summary: “Was I there, too - in your nightmare?” Emmy asks.
Relationships: Emmy Altava & Luke Triton
Series: (pl) sky full of song [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1811797
Comments: 13
Kudos: 23





	how deeply are you sleeping, or are you still awake

_High columns line the hall. A ray of daylight shimmers through the turquoise interior, mysteriously reflecting on the crystal-hemmed tiles. In the middle of the wide room, there’s a sort of shrine - with a door - someone is standing in there._

_A glimmering dagger is drawn and someone screams in pain. Then suddenly, the floor starts to crumble beneath his feet. Something is piercing through the air, sending pink beams down to the snow - and there’s something sharp pressed to his throat, and everyone is screaming, and it’s cold and then hot and then cold again, and he’s falling, he’s falling, he’s falling-_

There’s a mute scream still stuck in his throat as Luke jolts up.  
His heartbeat races through the calm dark - it takes him a couple of seconds and some ruffling through the sheets to realize he’s on board of the airship Bostonius, safe in his bed and not trapped in the ruins of - what _was_ that?

 _Just a dream_ , he thinks, trying to calm himself - he’s not a small child anymore, he’s not scared of _just a dream_. And yet, his throat feels uncomfortably dry all of a sudden and the flashing image of glistening turquoise has burned itself into the back of his mind.

As quietly as possible, he climbs out of bed to tip-toe to the Bostonius’ living space - hasn’t he noticed a carafe of water on the table earlier?

The wide room is silent, empty - peaceful, in a sense. It can be so lively onboard the Bostonius, when the whole crew is seated around the table, talking and joking and playing but now, it’s just him and the night sky visible through the vast windows above the control panel. Except - there is someone, something else, curled up between the buttons and levers.

“Keats”, Luke whispers, slowly approaching the violet cat. “You can’t sleep either, huh?”  
His gaze is fixed on the sky and Luke lifts his head, too, having walked up to the pilot seat. Countless stars light up the night above the pitch-black jungle. For a moment, Luke forgets the terrorizing illusions of his nightmare and appreciates the glooming beauty.  
“You’re right, Keats, it’s very beautiful - hm?”

Something else is lighting up the dark, far beneath the airship - a bonfire, with a familiar figure sitting next to it. Even from afar, the gleaming yellow of the person’s jacket is clearly visible.

“That’s Emmy! So she’s awake, too? What is she doing all alone by the fire? Maybe I should go talk to her…”  
Keats meows softly and so, Luke is on his way.

Even in the dawn of night, the tropical air is still mild. In the distance, he can hear the distant sough of the waterfall they passed on their investigations during the day.

She only notices him as he has already halfway walked up to her.

Emmy jumps at the sight of him.  
“Luke! What are you doing up this late? You should be in bed right now.”  
Nevertheless, she lets him sit down on the tree stump next to her.

“It’s late for you, too, Emmy! Anyway, I… I had a nightmare…” Luke mumbles, fidgeting with his pyjama sleeves.  
“Aw, Luke...” Although caught off guard at first, Emmy’s playfulness returns quickly as she shoots him a comforting smile. “It was just a dream, don’t worry about it!”

Luke can’t help but notice that it’s only her mouth that does the smiling part.  
“I’m not worrying about it!! It’s just… it felt so real…”

“Yes, nightmares do, sometimes.” Emmy sighs. “To be honest, I haven’t been able to get the best of sleep tonight, either, so I was just looking through some polaroids I took earlier. Do you want to tell me about what happened in your dream, maybe?”

He gulps and shuts his eyes in an attempt to make out the images more clearly - and his heart grows heavy.  
“Aurora was there… and that Bronev man. There was this huge hall, it looked ancient and kind of… important. And it was really cold, like when we were in that cave in Froenborg. But it was also hot, I think someone got hurt… Aurora, I think. I felt really scared and alone, for some reason - and then the floor crumbled down and we all fell into the sea. And then, I woke up.”

Emmy’s expression has been growing more and more bitter as he recounted the events from his dream. Something about the way she looks at him scares Luke - she seems so frighteningly different, suddenly, her usually so cheerful expression illuminated by the withering fire, casting deep shadows among her features.

“Was I there, too - in your nightmare?”

Luke’s throat tightens at the raw sound of her voice. He doesn’t hesitate with his answer.

“Of course you were, Emmy! You probably saved the day and fought off the bad guys, like you always do!” It’s an attempt to banish that sorrow look from her face, however, it seems that his answer has only done more harm.  
It’s strange - he is sitting down firmly, and still, he can’t shake the feeling of falling.

Emmy smiles, but she doesn’t, really. “Forget I said this later, but you know what, Luke? I actually think you might be the Professor’s number one apprentice.”

For a moment, Luke sits back, shocked.  
It should have cheered him up, probably, but all of a sudden he feels tears creeping up the back of his throat. No, she is supposed to bicker with him, to playfully fight and protect him. Just what is wrong with Emmy?

“Don’t say that!”, he bursts out, as Emmy flinches in surprise at the anger in his voice. “You’re the Professor’s assistant, too! Don’t be like that!”

His words echo through the night. For a moment, it seems as though they could fend off all the lingering darkness.

“There, there, Luke…”, Emmy whispers, trying to regain her voice, “You’re right. I didn’t mean it like that. I think I’m just tired, it might be messing with my head.”

“Then we should go back to sleep”, Luke urges, “And tomorrow we’ll spend another fun day adventuring with all of the others, right?”

Emmy nods. “Right.”

She stays behind him as they climb the Bostonius, so Luke doesn’t notice the tears in her eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> happy drownout2020! every person participating makes my heart swell, it's wonderful to see the layton community so alive with wholesome content. this idea has been on my mind for a while and i finally found the motivation to write it out thanks to the drown out :) 
> 
> please note i usually dont bother thinking about grammar related stuff i just. write what feels okay lmao in case you found any major mistakes you can tell me though! 
> 
> sorry for the pain, but then again, i finished replaying azran legacy yesterday, so there's really nothing else than angst to expect from me, lmao. this is also my first time to actually something featuring luke??? uhm wild. anyway hope you enjoyed!


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